Tag: east village

Art created by neighbors at Father Joe’s Villages!

Look at all these great works of art! They were created by neighbors at Father Joe’s Villages.

Father Joe’s Health and Wellness Program includes activities that foster creativity, well-being, and personal growth. That includes making art!

The latest Painting the Town exhibition, now on view at the San Diego Central Library, celebrates this art.

Father Joe’s Villages helps those in San Diego experiencing homelessness. They provide emergency and transitional housing for adults and families with children, provide showers, laundry facilities, a public lunch line, a health center, employment and education services, and more.

Look at this beautiful art and see hope.

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Helen Keller exhibit at San Diego Central Library.

A small exhibit can be viewed in a glass display case in the I CAN! CENTER at San Diego’s downtown Central Library. It concerns the incredible life of Helen Keller.

Photographs and artifacts beautifully document how Hellen Keller overcame huge personal challenges to become the source of inspiration for countless people across the world today.

The I CAN! CENTER provides assistive technology, adaptive equipment, and accessible services for people with disabilities.

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Dinosaurs, clowns and a dragon in East Village!

I frequently walk down Ninth Avenue past Modern Times Coffee in San Diego’s East Village. Whenever I do, I have to turn my head and glance inside.

Why?

Because the unusual coffee shop contains dinosaurs, clowns, a dragon and other wild, crazy sights!

The Modern Times Coffee website describes what patrons encounter as retro-future decor. Whatever you might call the outlandish assemblage, it’s a lot of fun!

Where else can you find Ronald McDonald sitting happily under a flying pterodactyl and disco ball?

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Young man follows his dreams in San Diego!

Niko Kohnen is following his dreams.

The young man was playing a keyboard outside Petco Park after today’s Padres victory against the Twins.

Where his dreams might take him, only time will tell.

Meanwhile, he’s putting smiles on many passing faces!

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Mystery antique paper cutter at San Diego library!

There’s a mystery at the San Diego Central Library, up on the 9th floor in the Marilyn & Gene Marx Special Collections Center!

Look at this huge old paper cutter sitting near one corner of the room! Talk about heavy duty! I happened to stumble upon this unique antique device during a visit to the San Diego Library.

A note atop the antique states:

With the help of Anita Engles, Executive Director of the American Bookbinders Museum, we have deduced that this unmarked, vintage paper cutter is either an Advance Pony Lever Cutter or a Challenge Lever Cutter with a Finger Gauge. As for the year it was manufactured, that remains a mystery.

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Painting the Town to help San Diego homeless!

I noticed this poster at the San Diego Central Library today. It announces a very special event coming up on the evening of August 18, 2026. Painting the Town: A Night of Art and Community will take place on the Central Library’s main floor exhibit space.

According to the event website, the evening will be the special opening night celebrating artwork created through the Wellness Program at Father Joe’s Villages, which empowers clients experiencing homelessness through creativity and self-expression. Enjoy inspiring artwork accompanied by live music from the San Diego Symphony.

I encourage you to check out the above link!

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The Space Between Words at UC San Diego Park & Market.

A thought-provoking exhibition of art opened recently in San Diego’s East Village, up in the second floor gallery of UC San Diego Park & Market. It’s titled The Space Between Words.

Any art that concerns language immediately intrigues me. What is the space between words? I wondered, thinking literally. Between written words: a short (or long) space. Between spoken words: a little (or much) breath.

According to a sign concerning the exhibition, language is more than something we speak. It is something we carry, remember, lose, invent, and share…

I recall reading or hearing that language is a prerequisite for human-level intelligence. Words are infinitely combinable symbols we share that can convey complex meaning.

Presented by Vanguard Culture’s ARTS LAB, The Space Between Words brings together the work of artists Jon Savage, Ale Uzarraga, Kelvin Lopez, and Jess Bergman. Their pieces explore the many ways we communicate when words alone are not enough.

So, I suppose, beyond language expressed by mind and body, there is art that itself speaks–art created by an artist’s mind and hands…

Some examples:

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More fun new street art in East Village!

A bunch of electrical boxes were recently painted with fun street art in San Diego’s East Village.

I happened to stumble upon another one today. It’s not far from Petco Park, which explains the Padres graphics!

I see it was painted about a month ago by artist Kate Caughey (@kcaughey).

To see more newly painted boxes near Petco Park, click here and here!

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Visiting the Petco Interactive Zone at Comic-Con!

Walking around outside during Comic-Con 2026? Is it lunchtime? Why not head over to the Interactive Zone at Petco Park where you’ll find several themed food trucks and plenty of tables.

You’ll also find a few activations. The big one is miniature golf, an activity under a shady roof. Its purpose is to promote Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes. Leave a comment if you played.

Advice! Don’t wait forever in line before the Petco Interactive Zone opens each morning. Not long after the gate opens, the line goes away.

Labu’Tique Farmers Market…

KAYOU Walls of Fandom…

Food!

Diarra From Detroit.

Hello Kitty Cafe Truck.

Magic: The Gathering mini golf.

Maruchan’s MaruMart.

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Baseball kids street art near Petco Park.

This electrical box must have been painted very recently. I saw it for the first time during a walk yesterday. It’s located on J Street, near Petco Park, northwest of the Gallagher Square playground.

The four sides of the box show baseball kids (no doubt Padres fans) swinging a bat, reading a book (from the nearby Central Library?), holding happy potted flowers, and eating a ginormous hot dog with mustard!

The street art in Padres colors is signed Nicholas Danger. That’s the name used by local artist Nicholas McPherson. His fun, bold street art is all over San Diego!

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